I was impressed with the way he went immediately for mount and repeatedly reclaimed it after his opponent recovered half guard. That kind of focus on positional progression is what a lot of wrestlers struggle with initially.

I was impressed with the way he went immediately for mount and repeatedly reclaimed it after his opponent recovered half guard. That kind of focus on positional progression is what a lot of wrestlers struggle with initially.

That's one of the interesting things about Askren. He has a crazy, funky wrestling game that works off his long, flexible limbs, as if a BJJ player like Ryan Hall or David Bass were doing amateur wrestling:

Ben had a dominant Junior season in 2005-2006, winning all 45 of the matches he wrestled, pinning in 25 of those matches. He won the 174 pound weight class easily at both the Big 12 and NCAA Championships. He won his Big 12 finals match 17-6 over Jacob Klein of Nebraska and his NCAA finals match 14-2 over another wrestler who was undefeated going into the NCAA finals Jake Herbert of Northwestern. His outstanding season earned him the Outstanding Wrestler award at the NCAA Championships as well as the Dan Hodge Trophy and the Rev Wrestler of the Year.

He continued that dominance going into his Senior year in 2006-2007, going undefeated again with a record of 42-0. He won his second consecutive NCAA Championship at 174 pounds by defeating second-ranked Keith Gavin of Pittsburgh, 8-2. Ben finished his collegiate career with an 87 match winning streak. He also became only the second person ever to win the Dan Hodge Trophy twice, as W.I.N. Magazine named the 2007 winner. Ben was also once again named the Rev Wrestler of the Year. Ironically, Jake Herbert, who Ben defeated in the finals in 2006, moved up a weight to 184 in 2007, to claim outstanding wrestler honors at the NCAA. Ben finished his collegiate wrestling career with a record of 153-8, with 91 of those victories coming by way of fall. Those 91 pins put him at third on the all-time NCAA Division I pins list. He was also a four-time All American, including being only the twelfth Division I wrestler ever to be a four-time finalist.